SakeBrooklyn to open 6,500 s/f brewery and taproom in Gowanus

Brooklyn, NY SakeBrooklyn Brewing Co., a premium American-style sake brand, has signed a lease for 6,500 s/f at 500 Degraw St., where it will open a full-scale sake brewery and public-facing taproom. The deal was brokered by Igloo, which represented SakeBrooklyn, further expanding its growing track record of retail activations across the neighborhood.

“Our goal is to bring a social, more shared way of enjoying sake to American drinkers, without compromising on quality or tradition,” said Dutch and Leslie Fox, co-founders of SakeBrooklyn. “We’re creating a space where people can discover sake in a more intuitive way - whether it’s their first time trying it with friends or they’re deepening their appreciation for the craft. Gowanus felt like the right place to introduce that experience — authentic, creative, and community-driven.”

“Residential density in Gowanus is arriving at scale, and thoughtful retail activations are being planned across the neighborhood to support that growth,” said Adam Joly, managing director at Igloo. “Concepts like SakeBrooklyn don’t just fill space - they create destinations. This is exactly the kind of experiential, culture-driven use that defines great neighborhood retail.”

SakeBrooklyn is reimagining how sake is made, experienced, and consumed in the U.S., blending traditional Japanese brewing techniques with a distinctly Brooklyn lens. The concept centers around pairing high-quality, flavorful small-batch production with an immersive taproom experience, designed to introduce sake to a broader audience in a social and easy to explore setting.

The Degraw St. location will house both a working brewery and a taproom where guests can engage directly with the sake-making process while sampling a range of offerings—from traditional styles to more experimental releases. The taproom will also feature a selection of shareable bites designed to complement the sake. The space is expected to serve as both a production hub and a community-oriented gathering place.

SakeBrooklyn’s founders aim to expand how Americans experience sake, moving it from niche to something social, versatile, and part of everyday occasions. The brand offers a distinct take on sake in the U.S. , as premium sake continues to gain traction in the U.S. market.

The opening builds on a wave of new retail and food-and-beverage concepts entering Gowanus following the neighborhood’s rezoning and rapid residential growth. Igloo has been at the forefront of that shift, actively curating a mix of uses across the neighborhood—from breweries and wine shops to community-driven design studios—helping shape a more dynamic, ground-floor retail landscape.

SakeBrooklyn is expected to open in early 2027, adding to the area’s growing roster of destination food and beverage operators.

Patrick O’Rourke of Cushman & Wakefield represented the owner, Property Markets Group (PMG). The development, Society Brooklyn, includes two mixed-use towers totaling 605,000 s/f, featuring 517 apartments in total, with 75% market-rate rentals and 25% designated as affordable housing through the Affordable Housing New York Program. The project is anchored by ground-floor retail spaces along Bond, Union and Degraw Sts. and a large public plaza fronting on the Gowanus Canal.